The Scientific Style and Format (CSE) has three methods for referring to references (also known as citations) within the text of a journal article, book, or other scientific publication: 1) citation-sequence; 2) name–year; and 3) citation–name. These abbreviated references are called in-text references. They refer to a list of references at the end of the document.
The system of in-text references that you use will determine the order of references at the end of your document. These end references have essentially the same format in all three systems, except for the placement of the date of publication in the name–year system. Example of the name-year in-text style: (PDRHealth 2010)
The Reference List at the end of your paper should follow these guidelines:
- List entries alphabetically by author's last name
- Use initials for author's first names. Do not use a comma between the last name and initial.
- Do not italicize or underline the titles of books or journals.
- Only the first letter of the title's first word and any proper nouns should be capitalized.
- Abbreviate the title of any journal that is more than one word.
Book Example:
9. Gillaspy AF, Iandolo JJ. Staphylococcus. In: Schaechter M, editor. Encyclopedia of microbiology. 3rd ed. Amsterdam; Boston: Elsevier/Academic Press; 2009. Vol. 2, p. 293-303.9. Gillaspy AF, Iandolo JJ. Staphylococcus. In: Schaechter M, editor. Encyclopedia of microbiology. 3rd ed. Amsterdam; Boston: Elsevier/Academic Press; 2009. Vol. 2, p. 293-303.
Journal Example:
1. Mahmud K, Vance ML. Human growth hormone and aging. N Engl J Med. 2003;348(2):2256-2257.
